Seoul to cut off N. Korea's overseas financial sources

Seoul to cut off N. Korea's overseas financial sources. February. 13, 2016 07:30. by 조숭호기자 shcho@donga.com.

The South Korean government is reportedly moving to expand overseas its efforts to cut off the funding sources for North Korea's development of weapons of mass destruction. The first target is the North's foreign currency earnings through North Korean laborers working overseas.

A key official in the South Korean government said Friday that Seoul plans to tighten North Korea's funding sources and start by stopping Pyongyang's dispatch of its labor forces to Southeast Asian countries. Reportedly, North Korea earns nearly 300 million U.S. dollars a year by taking monthly salaries of its laborers working overseas. The amount is about three times as much as the 120 million dollars Pyongyang earns through the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

"We think that we can cut off the funds funneled (to Pyongyang) through other sources by showing the example of blocking (the cash flow through the Kaesong Industrial Complex)," another senior South Korean government official said. "Major countries' sanctions on the North will be focused on cutting off Pyongyang's funding sources."

An official at Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that it was "difficult" to put pressure on Pyongyang through international organizations because the North is not a member of the International Labor Organization. Therefore, Seoul has to seek bilateral cooperation with third countries by asking each country not to use North Korean laborers. The ultimate goal is to win cooperation from China and Russia, the two largest importers of North Korean labor. For now, Seoul is said to be planning to talk with Southeast Asian countries first.

According to Seoul's National Intelligence Service and the state-funded Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, it is estimated that the North has approximately 58,000 laborers working in some 20 countries around the world. Seoul will also likely strengthen its restrictions on South Koreans dining at North Korea's overseas restaurants. The North has a number of state-run restaurants across Southeast Asia.